Brian Roberts could go on minor league rehab assignment at end of O's road trip

With Brian Roberts recently making significant strides in his recovery from a right hamstring surgery, Orioles manager Buck Showalter said Wednesday that the second baseman could begin a minor league rehab assignment right after the team’s road trip ends Sunday.

“He’ll know,” Showalter said. “We talk about it every day. I love having Brian around and he got through taking ground balls. He was doing slow rollers plays, balls to his right where he really needs to push off. He’s had a lot of tests that he’s passed so far. We’ve talked about it. It might not happen, but there’s a chance he could go out at the end of this trip.”

Roberts has done a significant amount of early work on the team’s trip to Detroit. He participated in sprint and agility drills Tuesday and Showalter said one of the biggest remaining tests is perfecting short bursts of running.

“That’s certainly one of the biggest things left, that and a little bit of strength,” Roberts said. “Those are probably the two, that and running bases. [Head trainer] Richie [Bancells] wants me to be able to run the bases pretty well a couple times at least. We’ve got two or three things we’re trying to check off.”

While the rest of the team is off, Roberts will continue to rehab on the team’s off day Thursday in Toronto.

“He was like, ‘I hate to make anybody come in,’” Showalter said. “I said, ‘Brian, it’s what we do. We want to get you back as soon as possible.’

“I think sometimes it's mentality. You had a piece [of a muscle] taken out. It’s just letting your body recover for it. It’s like taking your appendix out. You don’t need it … but it’s just letting your body covering for it.”